The Maha-Mrityunjaya mantra is a powerful tool for healing and overcoming fear. During this time of stress and uncertainty, this mantra can help one sustain a healthy nervous system and strong immunity. It can also aid in mental balance, the ability to stay centered and sane while collective turmoil is in the air.
We’ve attached an audio file so you can hear the lyrical pronunciation of the mantra. Feel free to sit or lie in a comfortable position and simply listen. Like burning incense, it will fill the air regardless of your active participation. If you’d like to learn to repeat the mantra on your own you can try and replicate what you hear and you are also free to contact us for help.
oṃ tryambakaṃ yajāmahe
sugandhiṃ puṣṭi-vardhanam
urvārukam iva bandhanān
mṛtyor mukṣīya mā’mṛtāt
With all of my heart, I worship the fragrant, virtuous, supreme being.
Like a ripe fruit falling from the vine,
may I be free from the bondage of death,
and recall my immortal nature.
Om – All of me
With complete willingness and yearning, with all of my heart. All too often, we hold ourselves back due to fear of failure and, perhaps, fear of success. For once, let us commit fully to our greatest hopes and dreams.
tryambakaṃ – three-eyed
We are all aware we possess two eyes by which we perceive the external world. Let us now become aware of our “”third eye,” by which we perceive ourselves, others, and the entire world with intuitive vision.
yajāmahe – worship
Instead of glorifying the temporary idols of superficial attainments and other unenlightened beings, let us change our orientation and focus on our own best interests of growth and healing.
sugandhim – the fragrant, virtuous, supreme being
The supreme being does not reside in a distant external realm. The one you are seeking is in the deepest part of your own self. This is what is meant by, ”The kingdom of heaven is within.”
puṣṭivardhanam – nurturer of all boons
The four great boons of life according to the yoga tradition are: health, prosperity, harmony, and spiritual enlightenment. These are not found by pursuing externals; they are realized as gifts to be accepted. The winds of grace are blowing, put up your sail.
urvārukamiva – like a ripe fruit
You are ready. You need not change into someone else, seek some unattainable perfection, or pay a price of suffering. Your ripeness is not based on doing, it is the result of diving into your own consciousness. Learn how to relax into this truth.
bandhanān – from bondage
Like a baby duck that imprinted on the zookeeper and follows him around rather than the mamma duck, we have become bound by social and psychological conventions and are following false leaders. It is time to awake, arise, and honor the integrity of our own passions and yearning. The cell doors are not locked. A little push against your own conditioning will spring you from jail.
mṛtyoḥ – from death
Of course we will all perish and leave this world. To the yogi, death is but a change, not a disaster. When you take off your shoes, doesn’t it feel good to wiggle your toes? When you someday take off your physical body, it will feel really good. You’ll feel silly that you worried.
mukṣīya – freedom
Everyone wants to feel safe and secure. The paradox of life is that safety is found in freedom. Pursuing security keeps us weighed down in stress and struggles for control. Releasing our burdens — hurry, worry, fear, and doubt — brings contentment.
mā’mṛtāt – immortality
The story of our lives that begins at birth is meaningful and profound when seen in the context of eternity. However, it is just one chapter in a grander tale. Hold this life with gratitude but hold it tenderly, knowing it shall pass. There is no need to constantly tell the story of this life to yourself and others by regurgitating unpleasant memories and reinforcing grievances. Forgive, let go, dwell in yourself, an eternal soul.
